Archive for the ‘Elections’ Category

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Cascade launches new leadership development program, Electoral Cycles!

Tuesday, April 30th, 2013 by

As we roll into election season, we’re thrilled to announce the launch of our latest leadership development program, Electoral Cycles!

Building on Cascade Bicycle Club’s mission to create better communities through bicycling and the success of our Advocacy Leadership Institute, Electoral Cycles will train a diverse group of people from across the Puget Sound region to help elect pro-bicycling candidates and pass ballot measures to help bicycling.

Electoral Cycles is a hands-on, six-month leadership development program that will empower local bicycle advocates and enthusiasts with the skills necessary to help elect pro-bicycling champions. The program will run from June 4 through November 12, meeting (almost) every other week on Tuesday nights from 6 to 8 p.m. in downtown Seattle. Participants are expected to attend at least 10 of the 12 meetings and spend 4-5 hours each week on related responsibilities.

Through VIP guest speakers, training on technical skills and direct work on campaigns, participants will learn how to get pro-bicycling champions elected the best way possible: by actually doing it!

By the end of election season in November, you’ll have the skills, encouragement and support to effectively:

  • Inspire others with your personal story;
  • Plan an electoral campaign;
  • Identify, recruit, empower and lead teams of volunteers;
  • Target and contact voters;
  • Deliver a powerful message that moves votes;
  • Research candidates and issues;
  • Throw an awesome party that builds power; and
  • Win elections.

This isn’t a class where you study theory in an ivory tower. Participants in Electoral Cycles will apply their skills directly on pro-bicycling campaigns.

Never been involved in electoral politics? That’s okay; we’ll give you all the tools you need as long as you bring the enthusiasm and commitment. A veteran political organizer who’s worked on dozens of campaigns? That’s great! We’d love to learn from your experience.

Application materials are due by Monday, May 20. To apply, please submit your resume and completed application to emily.kathrein@cascadebicycleclub.org with “Electoral Cycles Application” In the subject line.

We have a limited number of spaces in the Electoral Cycles program. Admittance will be based on your passion for creating a pro-bicycling community, desire to learn and work in electoral politics and level of commitment. Minorities, women and people of all ages are encouraged to apply.

Posted in Advocacy, Elections | 3 Comments »

Cascade Bicycle Club Endorses McGinn, Bagshaw, Conlin and O’Brien

Thursday, April 18th, 2013 by

Today, Cascade Bicycle Club announced its early endorsements in Seattle. Cascade Bicycle Club issues early endorsements to a select group of previously endorsed candidates who have demonstrated a strong and consistent commitment to creating a better community through bicycling and have made substantial accomplishments on bicycling-related issues.

Cascade’s early endorsed candidates in Seattle include:
• Mike McGinn – Mayor
• Sally Bagshaw – Seattle City Council, Position #4
• Richard Conlin – Seattle City Council, Position #2
• Mike O’Brien – Seattle City Council, Position #8

Mike O'Brien

“Mayor McGinn has shown bold leadership in making our streets safer for everybody, whether they drive, haul freight, ride transit, bike or walk,” said Craig M. Benjamin, Policy and Government Affairs Manager for Cascade Bicycle Club. “He recognizes that sixty percent of people in Seattle want to bicycle more, but they are not doing it because they don’t feel safe. So he has shifted our bicycling investments toward physically protecting bike lanes from speeding car traffic and building more neighborhood greenways – low-speed, low-traffic streets that are safer for families.”

“Councilmember Bagshaw has worked hard to make bicycling so safe that Seattle families will let their eight year olds ride their bikes to school, to parks, to libraries and through their neighborhoods; and grandparents will choose to ride their bikes to the local neighborhood business district for a morning cup of coffee and newspaper,” said Evan Manvel, Director of Policy, Planning and Government Affairs.

“Councilmember Conlin has a track record of leadership in taking bold steps to advance bicycling, from supporting safety improvements that make our streets safer for everybody, to getting a bike lane planned on the new Portage Bay Bridge, to working with partner agencies and jurisdictions to secure tens of millions of dollars for investments in bicycling,” said Benjamin.

Richard Conlin

“Councilmember O’Brien has championed efforts to secure additional funding for bicycling infrastructure and the region’s early efforts to bring a bike share program to Seattle,” added Benjamin. “He sees what other cities are doing to support building a better community through bicycling and wants to see Seattle not just keeping up, but leading the way.”

“We’re proud to endorse these candidates because of their hard work to make our streets safer for our children and everyone who wants to ride,” said Mo McBroom, a Cascade Bicycle Club board member and chair of its Legislative and Endorsements Committee. “We look forward to working with them to connect our city with a complete network of protected bike lanes and neighborhood greenways.”

Over the next few months, Cascade will make endorsements in additional races across the Puget Sound region.

Please contact Craig M. Benjamin, Cascade’s Policy and Government Affairs Manager, at (206) 713 6204 or craig.benjamin@cascadebicycleclub.org for more information. 

Posted in Advocacy, Elections, Media alerts | 7 Comments »

I might be relocating to Virginia, but I’m leaving a bike in Seattle

Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 by

I don’t think I have ever been so happy/sad/excited/depressed in my life. I am giving up a great job, a passionate community, and the company of so many wonderful friends and colleagues to help begin and grow something new. I’m off to be the Director of the Bike Walk RVA initiative in Richmond, Virginia for an organization not unlike Cascade Bicycle Club – but one that is in the infancy of its advocacy movement.

My last day at Cascade will be Friday, Feb. 15.

The best photo taken of me by anybody, ever. Credit: Mariana Kajlich, Seattle Magazine

In all the excitement, I can’t help but feel like I am leaving things somewhat unresolved here in Seattle. The Bicycle Master Plan has not been adopted and there is still much work to do before we have a world-class plan for bicycling. Shoot, there’s not even enough funding for implementation of the plan we have now. There are a bunch of projects coming up this season (like this) that will need your support in order to get built correctly. And there are pro-bike candidates we need to elect.

The good news is: Seattle in great hands. The reality is: we need more hands.

Between grassroots groups sprouting like weeds all over the city, both new and established bicycle advocacy organizations, capable city staff and visionary elected officials, Seattle is certainly on its way to becoming one of the best cities for bicycling in the country. Yes, there’s lots of momentum. But if we’re ever going to be the city we know we should be, Seattle still needs more people banging on doors of electeds, louder voices demanding more funding at budget hearings, and more butts on bikes.

The Richmond area – on the other hand – is more of a blank canvas. There are a few great recreational trails but there are even fewer bike lanes. I saw a couple sharrows when I was there. There are no neighborhood greenways or cycle tracks. If all goes well, that could change in the coming years (and then some), but it’s going to be a lot of hard work. Richmond doesn’t yet have a training program for bicycle advocates, or a neighborhood greenways movement – but it does have a lot of untapped potential that will take time to realize.

My point is, take advantage of what you have here, Seattle. If you haven’t gotten involved yet, what are you waiting for?! Now is the perfect opportunity to sign up for ways to get involved.

Seattle will always be my home. My friends and family are all here and I can’t wait to visit often and see how the bikeway network has grown, both downtown and in our neighborhoods. I’ll leave a bike at my folks’ house to use while I am in town, at least until bike share is up and running in 2014.

But will someone email me once the 39th Ave NE greenway is finally finished? I mean, we had the ribbon cutting ceremony in October, and it’s still not done! What gives?!

Okay, I digress. I want to thank all of my friends and coworkers at Cascade, all my colleagues on the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board, and all my partners in the community for one hell of a ride. Nearly everything I learned about effective advocacy, I learned here. Now I get to go apply it to Richmond.

Watch out, Seattle – RVA is going to give you a run for your money!

Posted in Advocacy, Elections, Meetings & turnout, Seattle Bicycle Master Plan Update | 5 Comments »

Levy funding for street and park maintenance: A big win for bicyclists in Kirkland

Friday, December 21st, 2012 by

In November, Kirkland voters passed two Cascade-endorsed levies, and now the City of Kirkland is working to decide where to spend the money.

Levy funds improve road conditions for all.

Proposition 1, a $3 million levy for city street maintenance and pedestrian safety, passed with a nearly 55 percent approval rate. In the coming year, engineers will evaluate 500 lane miles of Kirkland’s roads, including its neighborhood streets, to determine how the money will be spent.

According to a City report, part of the maintenance plan is to overlay six arterials, Slurry Seal roughly 30 lane miles of road, construct sidewalks to Kirkland’s 12 elementary and middle schools, re-stripe 230 crosswalks and upgrade 50 of the City’s most trafficked  crosswalks with warning  lights. Over time, the levy will also expand Kirkland’s 40 miles of bike lanes and make the City’s network of parks, transit routes, schools and commercial areas more connected for walkers and cyclists.

“This is a big win for bicyclists in Kirkland,” says Evan Manvel, Cascade’s Director of Policy, Planning & Government Affairs. “Of course we’re excited about new improved bike connections, that we hope will be designed to serve people of all ages and abilities, but we also appreciate funding for street maintenance, which impacts road riding as well as the long-term stability of our transportation funding.”

The other Cascade-endorsed levy, Proposition 2, will fund the restoration, maintenance and enhancement of  Kirkland’s network of park.

Within seven years, Park planners say the $2.35 million-per-year levy will help the City complete a series of vital projects including renovation of the shoreline along Lake Washington, continue the partnership with the Lake Washington School District that gives residents access to ballfields at 16 Kirkland schools, and it help the City transform  the old Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail corridor into the Cross Kirkland Corridor’s interim bicycle and pedestrian trail.

“Cascade has long advocated for taking advantage of the disused Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway line for a regional trail, connecting all the cities in the region’s Eastside. Prop 2 will allow Kirkland to take some significant steps towards creating that trail,” said Manvel. “Surveys of all types of cyclists show that routes away from traffic, such as trails, are the preferred route, and this could be a fabulous one.”

Posted in Advocacy, Commuting, Elections, Road & Trail News | 3 Comments »

You have until 8 p.m. on Tuesday to bike your vote to the drop box

Monday, November 5th, 2012 by

Voters must return their ballots for the November election by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 6. Bike to one of the ballot drop boxes or ballot drop-off vans near you to deposit your ballot.

Vote bike-partisan:

If we want a future where everyone has the freedom to safely ride their bike, we need elected officials committed to building this future.

We work hard to ensure that our elected officials understand and support our vision of a community that bicycles, where bicycling is normal, convenient and safe for everyone; and why we work hard to provide our 14,000 members with information regarding candidates running for office.

All of Cascade’s endorsed candidates have shown a strong commitment to working toward a future Washington where everyone who wants to can ride because our state is connected by world-class bicycling infrastructure.

See a complete list of Cascade Bicycle Club’s 2012 endorsements, here, and browse through  Cascade Bicycle Club’s 2012 legislative scorecard, which provides a quantitative account of how every legislator voted on issues that support making it easier and safer to ride, while providing a qualitative look at the real story behind the scenes.

 

Posted in Advocacy, Elections, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

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